


Being Thankful

by WillowRedWitch



Series: Friends Don't Lie [3]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Eleven is thankful for a lot, Eleven's First Thanksgiving, F/M, Fluff, Friendsgiving, IT'S SO FLUFFY, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving at the Byers, They all say what they're thankful for, there's Byler friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2019-02-06 14:32:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12819594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillowRedWitch/pseuds/WillowRedWitch
Summary: The party has a friendsgiving about a month after the gate is closed. It's Eleven's first Thanksgiving and she's happy to spend it with her family.There's so much fluff.Basically what Eleven is thankful for.





	Being Thankful

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! 
> 
> I wanted to get this up sooner, but being home for the holiday has had some ups and downs! 
> 
> I'm still working on Of Eggos and Pillowforts, but I've had this Thanksgiving one planned for a bit so here you are.
> 
> Un-Betaed so let me know if you catch anything!

Joyce Byers would swear that night the laughter in her house could have been heard three towns over. It was the night before Thanksgiving about two and a half weeks after Eleven had closed the gate and everyone had piled themselves into the Byers’ tiny home. Will was still on bed rest and El was still in hiding for another year (much to her increased annoyance), but everyone else had gotten out of school early for the holiday and had insisted on a friendsgiving for their party.

It would be Eleven’s first Thanksgiving with people who loved her, and they wanted to make it special. Mike got there first with Nancy bringing one of Mrs. Wheeler’s casseroles. Nancy busied herself helping Joyce and Johnathon in the kitchen while Mike went into Will’s room. 

“Hey,” he said poking his head in. 

Will smiled brightly. “Hey.” He sat up and smiled. “Did you bring it?” Will was cleared to walk short distances around the house, but he wasn’t allowed to go to school yet, so Mike and the boys had been bringing him comic books and VHS tapes and homework to keep him busy. 

“Yeah, sorry it took so long I had to wait until El finished it.” They had been doing the same for El along with bringing her work to help her prepare for school in the next year and she happened to have Mike’s favorite X-Men comic the exact day Will wanted to borrow it. 

“Don’t sweat it. She’s part of the party now, too,” Will replied and Mike grinned broadly. “You really like her, don’t you?” Will asked.

Mike blushed to the tips of his ears, “Yeah… But don’t tell the guys I told you!” he added quickly.

Will laughed a little. “I won’t. I mean everyone knows, but if I were you I wouldn’t like the teasing either.”

Mike nodded and smiled at his hands deep in thought. 

“Mike?” Will broke the silence after a few moments.

“Yeah?” Mike looked up at him.

“I’m happy… for both of you. She likes you a lot, too.”

“Yeah?”

Will laughed. “Mike! Are you purposefully being dumb? You both look at each other like you’re the only two people in the world.” Mike blushed deeper. “We’ve all been through a lot, El most of all. She trusts you more than anyone.”

“I know,” Mike smiled. “I just don’t want to mess it up.”

“I don’t think you could if you tried.”

Mike smiled back at Will for a brief moment before there was shouting coming from the front of the house. He ran to the door of Will’s bedroom to hear Max, Dustin, and Lucas all screaming over each other trying to explain Star Wars to Steve. 

Mike waved to them before looking back at Will. He waited for him to slowly get out of bed so they could walk together down the hall. 

Soon the house was filled with laughter and conversation that filled the air. Inside was warm and cheerful against the late November chill outside the small house. Even there the noise echoed into the night letting everyone who came close know there was happiness and love inside. 

\-----

El got out of Hopper’s police car and looked up at the Byers’ house listening to the laughter and voices of her family. She thought of the whole party and what they’d done for her in the past couple of weeks bringing her work to help her catch up and things to do to keep her busy while they were in school. She’d seen them a few times since she closed the gate, but never all in one place. 

She looked back at Hopper waiting for him to get out of the car. He had put in the paperwork for him to officially adopt her and was having a lot of conversations with Dr. Owens, most of which she didn’t understand. Mike told her last week that Thanksgiving was about being thankful for things. El was thankful for Hopper and the cabin. Of not being alone in the snow this year. 

Hopper put his hand on El’s shoulder. “Ready kid?” She nodded.

The headed into the house where everyone was laughing and bustling around. Nancy, Joyce and Jonathan were all trying to fit in the tiny kitchen. The party and Steve were all over the kitchen and the living room talking about who knows what, but they all looked up when El walked in.

There was a chorus of “Hey, El”s that went up as everyone waved then went back to what they were doing. Well, everyone except for Mike who got up to give El a hug. She smiled and hugged back feeling safe in his arms. It was just over a year since she had met Mike and it made her smile as he gently kissed the top of her curls where no one could see, and it was their little secret. She was thankful for Mike. 

“Hey Kid,” Hopper said and El and Mike jumped apart. Her adoptive dad chuckled. “I’m gonna go help Joyce in the kitchen, okay?” 

“Yeah, okay.” He ruffled her hair and left the room. 

She watched Mike breathe out an audible sigh of relief and smiled softly. “We’re helping Steve and Max make character sheets for D&D,” he said with a weird blush to his cheeks. “I can help you make one, too… um… if you want.”

El nodded in response. D&D seemed complicated, but it was important to Mike and the party, and she wanted to learn how to play. 

“Okay, cool,” Mike said smiling. “I was thinking you could be our mage, but if you don’t that’s okay, too. You could pick something else-“

“Mike,” she stopped his babbling with a hand on his shoulder. He looked right into her eyes in surprise and she looked back unfaltering. “I want to be your mage.”

He nodded and blushed deeper. “O-okay.” She smiled, and they went to join the group trying to explain to Steve why he couldn’t start out with the best armor or have all of the powers all at once. El giggled and sat down next to Mike laying her head gently on his shoulder. She was thankful for the party. 

\-----

A little while later Joyce was shuffling them all into the kitchen to wash their hands. Jonathan was taking pictures of the dinner and everyone around it as they all crammed up to the small dining room table. Eleven was between Hopper and Mike and she couldn’t be happier as Mike squeezed her hand gently under the table. She smiled brightly as Mike was patient with her trying new foods and telling her what they were. 

Dinner went smoothly in a cacophony of laughter and noise. El was smiling through the whole thing occasionally using her powers to help pass dishes or stack empty ones on the counter to make it easier for Joyce later. As she looked around the table at everyone smiling and talking she could have sworn there was a balloon expanding in her chest and it felt warm and safe. Mike would probably tell her that meant she felt happy, but it seemed like such a simple word for such an amazing feeling. 

Between dinner and pie when they were taking a rest, Joyce got all the kids hot chocolate and got her and Hopper cups of coffee. That’s when someone suggested they go around the table and say what they were thankful for. 

Hopper started. “I’m thankful to have El safe,” he said simply and El smiled broadly. She was thankful for Hopper keeping her safe even though she knew sometimes she was a pain in the ass about it. 

“I’m thankful we have returned to semi-normal,” Steve said. Then quickly added, “And for all you shitheads I guess.” Dustin grinned and everyone else laughed.

“I’m thankful for Turkey!” Dustin announced gleefully, and everyone laughed even more.

“I’m thankful the gate’s closed,” Lucas said, and everyone nodded in agreement the mood suddenly shifting as everyone looked down. They had all been thinking it. 

“I’m thankful we moved here,” Max said, and Will and Lucas hugged her from either side before she got fed up and grumbled, “Okay off guys!”

Will frowned for a minute as if contemplating his next words, “I’m thankful for the party and how you guys have helped me.” There was another round pats and hugs and the mood was even more emotional. 

“I’m thankful you’re safe, too,” Joyce said and hugged him tight.

“Mooom!” Will yelled in response and everyone laughed more some of the tension breaking in the air. 

“Okay… okay,” she said, laughing then turned to Jonathan. 

“I’m thankful we’re all alive,” Jonathan said, and everyone nodded. The mood plummeted again, and everyone stayed silent for a few moments.

“I’m thankful for my second family,” Nancy said beside Jonathan, breaking the silence. The mood shifted, but it was still heavy everyone thinking about the past year and what they had endured.

Then it was Mike’s turn and El held her breath wondering what he’d say. “I’m thankful we have El back and everyone’s here.” It was thinly veiled, but El knew he mostly meant the part about her. He smiled at her and she smiled back. “What are you thankful for El?”

She gave him a wicked grin before saying, “I’m thankful to be back,” she giggled, “and Eggos!” Everyone laughed and soon the emotional mood was dissolved into an argument over the difference between _The Hobbit_ and _Lord of the Rings_. Joyce went to go get the pies and El decided pumpkin was really good, but Eggos were better.

Soon, they were all piled in the living room watching Star Wars while Hopper and Joyce cleaned up. El wrapped herself around Mike and he absentmindedly played with her hair. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Max doing the same with Lucas, but she knew both of them would deny it later. She smiled burying deeper into Mike’s sweater that smelled like laundry detergent. 

One by one they all started falling asleep. She could feel Mike’s breathing slow down and her own eyes droop. Right before she dozed off she thought that she was the most thankful for her family.

**Author's Note:**

> I love my pure beans so much!
> 
> By the way, Jonathan gets a picture of them all curled up after they fall asleep.
> 
> Comments are life so leave me feedback it makes me a better writer. Feel free to also leave me requests!
> 
> My Tumblr is here: [musingsofabookworm](https://musingsofabookworm.tumblr.com)
> 
> I hope you all had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving if you celebrate it and I hope everyone has AMAZING winter holidays coming up in the next few months!


End file.
